WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday the actions of his former national security adviser Michael Flynn after the 2016 election were “lawful”.

Flynn on Friday pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible collusion between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential election campaign.

“I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!” Trump said in a tweet.